MacTech Blog

Oct 19

Wireless device charging predicted to be in 50 million...

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that wireless charging is poised to change the way consumers interact with their cars, with an estimated 50 million vehicles offering built-in wireless device charging by 2020, compared with only four million this year.

The new research found that the technology will enable a range of new in-vehicle services, such as on-board audio streaming, automatic cockpit drill customisation and context-specific notification filtering, made possible through the data exchange and constant power supply. This will also allow automakers to provide software-based services merely through streaming notifications from phone to dashboard, rather than needing to keep on-board firmware and hardware updated.

With no established standard for wireless charging, manufacturers have been hesitant to adopt the technology for fear of buying into a system...

With at least 10wireless operators already offering native Wi-Fi Calling, the market is set to grow rapidly in the fourth quarter (Q4)2015, according to the Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com) research group.

Unlike earlier versions of calling on Wi-Fi, native Wi-Fi Calling lets users make and receive calls and texts on their smartphones just as if they were on the cellular network, using the phone's dialer and contact lists. Calls can handover between Wi-Fi and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) during the call for a seamless customer experience.

Apple's support for Wi-Fi Calling in last year's iPhone 6 encouraged more operators to add the service capabilities to their networks and offer software upgrades for capable phones—certain models from Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and others. With 13 million new Wi-Fi Calling capable iPhones 6s and 6s+ just sold in the first weekend they were on...

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) finds support services are a critical part of brand strategy in the Internet of Things (IoT). According to Parks Associates' consumer research and segmentation, one-third of a key segment of consumers under 35, with high income and education, own a smart home device and more than 50% intend to purchase one in the next 12 months.

"These young, 'go-getter' consumers have a strong desire for comfort and convenience, and that combined with concerns about home safety and security makes smart home devices very attractive," says Patrice Samuels, research analyst, Parks Associates. "They are also accustomed to plug-and-play technology that just works. As we enter the next wave of smart home adoption, support strategies need to integrate with product design and development so that the consumer experience is seamless. Otherwise these consumers will...

Worldwide shipments of 3D printers will reach 496,475 units in 2016, up 103 percent from the predicted 244,533 units in 2015, according to Gartner, Inc.'s latest forecast. 3D printer shipments are forecast to more than double every year between 2016 and 2019, by which time worldwide shipments are expected to reach more than 5.6 million.

"Rapid quality and performance innovations across all 3D printer technologies are driving both enterprise and consumer demand, with unit shipment growth rates for 3D printers increasing significantly," says Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner. "The 3D printer market is continuing its transformation from a niche market to broad-based, global market of enterprises and consumers."

Seven technologies constitute the 3D printer market, with material extrusion forecast to lead 2015 shipments at 232,336 units, increasing to 5,527,493 units in 2019 (97.5 percent of the total) largely due to the sales of low cost, entry-level...

New consumer research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) finds that overall adoption of smart home devices has increased from 13 percent of U.S. broadband households in the second quarter of 2014 to 18 percent in the second quarter of 2015. Smart product adoption shows growth in smart home adoption is a combination of sales of existing product categories and an increase in the breadth of smart products entering the market.

"Consumer familiarity with smart home products and services is low. Therefore, manufacturers and service providers must educate consumers on the capabilities and benefits of smart home solutions," saysTom Kerber, director, Research, Home Controls & Energy, Parks Associates. "Channels seeing the most success are those that are able to connect with consumers and can provide an interactive discussion where consumers can ask questions to fully understand the...

The software-defined data center (SDDC) is crucial to the long-term evolution of an agile digital business according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). It is not, however, the right choice for all IT organizations currently, according to the research group.

"Infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders need to understand the business case, best use cases and risks of an SDDC," says Dave Russell, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "Due to its current immaturity, the SDDC is most appropriate for visionary organizations with advanced expertise in I&O engineering and architecture."

An SDDC is a data center in which all the infrastructure is virtualized and delivered "as-a-service." This enables increased levels of automation and flexibility that will underpin business agility through the increased adoption of cloud services and enable modern IT approaches such as DevOps. Today, most...

The popularity of OTT SVOD (over-the-top subscription video) has influenced the increase of connected media devices in consumers’ homes. In turn, connected media devices continue to change consumers’ TV/video viewing behavior by bringing a variety of sources of media and entertainment to the larger screen.

From family TV night via broadcasted TV, to binge watching and content stacking via OTT SVOD services on a consumer’s individual time, content consumption is in the control of the consumer. A new report from the Connected Home UX (CHX) group at Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com) exploring connected media device ownership has found that the accessibility to connected apps/services provides the convenience of on demand content and a more diverse breadth of TV/video to choose from; pushing consumers to watch more TV/video than ever before.

Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) are expected to reach 2.4 billion units in 2015, a 1 percent decline from 2014 and down from the previous quarter's forecast of 1.5 percent growth, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

"Replacement activity across all types of devices has decreased," says Ranjit Atwal, research director at the research group. "Users are extending the lifetime of their devices, or deciding not to replace their devices at all."

Gartner's latest device forecast also showed that shipments in all categories will contract in 2015, except for mobile phone shipments, which are on pace to increase 1.4 percent in 2015. Smartphone shipments are estimated to increase 14 percent in 2015. Emerging Asia/Pacific, including India and Indonesia, is on pace to show the strongest growth (43 percent) in 2015, while Greater China will grow three...

For a new generation of consumers, the first smartphone owned will be as a tween (aged 8-12 years). At this life stage, often coinciding with the end of elementary school or commencing middle school, children start to gain some independence from their parents.

Naturally, as children start doing more things on their own, parents want to be able to stay in touch with their child; the parent’s provision of a smartphone was not only motivated by communication, but also for use at school, in case of emergency and safety. Comparatively, for tweens, the motivation for a smartphone was communication with friends and family, games and texting.

A new report from the Mobile Device UX group at Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com) has explored the motivations and behaviors of tweens and parents with smartphones. For parents looking to give their tween a smartphone, ensuring its cost-...

PlayFab (www.playfab.com), a backend service to build, launch and grow live games, has announced findings from its recent survey on cybersecurity concerns and awareness among gamers.

The findings, which include responses from 500 participants that play video games more than four hours per week, revealed that 83 percent of respondents believe game developers should be responsible for securing players' personal data, however fewer than 40 percent said they feel confident in current safeguards.
What's more, while 86 percent of participants expressed concern with protecting personal data on the Internet, data security ranked as one of the lowest priorities when making game purchases for nearly half of all respondents, indicating a disparity between beliefs and actions.

Despite the steady succession of high-profile data breaches over the last year, many businesses and consumers are still not taking...

Consumers are looking to their mobile devices to do more and more of what their home PCs or laptops do; this in turn has led to similar security concerns on their mobile devices.

A new report from the Media and Services UX (MSX) group at Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com) has found that consumers are increasingly turning to mobile security app services to not only protect their phones and make them feel safer when using them, but also to help recover them and protect their data if their phones are ever lost or stolen.
Services that come pre-installed on mobile phones become the low-hanging fruit for users – especially those who are unaware that they exist, according to the research group This creates tremendous opportunity for both mobile operators and device OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]alike, providing users with an immediate security service that comes on their...

Much has happened worth commenting upon in the months that this space has been devoted to explicating some of the features of Modula-2 R10 that make it safe, reliable, and extensible as a problem solving tool. For one thing, a few errors were noted in the June article. R10 uses NOT, but ~ is not a synonym, [DESCENDING] was removed for FOR loops and replaced by FOR selector--, and two escape sequences for strings were omitted due to a misunderstanding. Fixed.

Meanwhile, amidst a new Federal election and accompanying rhetoric, Apple released the iPhone 6s and 6s+ to great anticipation, and wicked-fast sales amounting to thirteen million units in the first weekend. The Spy suspects many of these users are either upgrading old iPhones (pre-6) or switching from other platforms they have come to realize are inconsistent or inadequate for their needs.

Oh, there are some fair enough phones for the budget conscious without extensive...

The number of mobile health applications available to consumers now surpasses 165,000, as developers incorporate innovative data collection features linked to sensors and wearables, according to a new report released today by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

While most available apps focus on overall wellness, healthcare systems and professionals are expressing greater interest and excitement in broader app use as barriers to mainstream adoption of mHealth are removed—especially in the area of chronic disease management.

The IMS Institute study (http://tinyurl.com/oqzeo8n) found that one in 10 apps now has the capability to connect to a device or sensor, providing biofeedback and physiological function data from the patient and greatly extending the accuracy and convenience of data collection. Nearly a quarter of consumer apps are now focused on disease and treatment management,...

Investment in big data continues to increase in 2015, but not as rapidly as in previous years. More than three-quarters of companies are investing or planning to invest in big data in the next two years, a three percent increase over 2014, according to a recent survey of IT and business leaders by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

The survey, which was conducted among 437 Gartner Research Circle Members in June 2015, included global organizations across all industries, both Gartner clients and non-clients.

"This year begins the shift of big data away from a topic unto itself, and toward standard practices," says Nick Heudecker, research director at Gartner. "The topics that formerly defined big data, such as massive data volumes, disparate data sources and new technologies are becoming familiar as big data solutions become mainstream. For example, among companies that have invested in big data technology, 70...

During his lifetime, Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and former CEO, was known to be one of the most opinionated figures in the tech world. And while he certainly wasn’t right about everything, there’s one thing he got right years before many others: his famous rejection of Flash.

Five years after Jobs published an open letter defending his company’s decision to leave Flash off its mobile devices and slamming Flash as unreliable and unsafe, the majority of the internet industry has come to the same conclusion.

Flash is now widely regarded as a performance-hampering safety hazard and more and more companies are turning their back on what was once the industry standard: Citing security concerns, Mozilla recently disabled the Flash plugin in its Firefox browser by default; Amazon has banned it from its advertising network and other companies are following suite. In August 2015, just 22 percent of websites in the Alexa Top 10,000 used Flash, down from almost 50 percent...

Navigation tasks are vitally important use-cases for the in-vehicle consumer. Regardless of device type (embedded or portable), a well-put-together and usable connected navigation system must provide information which is timely, relevant, and easily-consumed. A new report from the In-vehicle UX (IVX) group at Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com) has found key differences in usage and satisfaction among owners of embedded, dedicated portable and smartphone-based navigation systems.

Surveying owners in the US, Western Europe, and China, Strategy Analytics found overall satisfaction to be highest among owners of embedded navigation systems, particularly in the US. However, while usage of embedded navigation systems remains high, the prevalence of smartphone-based app navigation is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Even so, findings from the survey suggest that users are still most...

US computer memory experts, Data Memory Systems (www.datamemorysystems.com), have offered some tips for those whose Mac computers might be letting them down, performance-wise. From conducting a clean install to switching to an SSD, the team at Data Memory Systems have offered their advice for anyone hoping to give their flagging Mac a new lease of life.

After a few years of continuous use, all computers become sluggish, much to the chagrin of many users. But luckily there are ways in which performance can be boosted – from installing new hardware to offloading files.

The first step to enhance any Mac’s performance is to head into the Activity Monitor and get a better understanding of why the device is sluggish. This built-in app shows the user which applications are placing the most pressure on your main processor and RAM. Note the functions and applications that are demanding the most...

A growing list of vendors, a proliferation of devices, experiences, and price points, and steady consumer adoption will fuel growth in the worldwide market for wearable devices. According to IDC (www.idc.com), wearable device shipments will reach 76.1 million units in 2015, up 163.6% from the 28.9 million units shipped in 2014.

By 2019, worldwide shipments will reach 173.4 million units, resulting in a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9%. Total shipments include both basic and smart wearables, which are two very different product categories in many aspects, adds the research group.

"Smart wearables only account for about a third of the total market today while basic wearables, led by fitness trackers, account for the rest," says Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers. "Driven by advancements in user interface (UI) and features, smart wearables are on track to...

Consumer and advertising expenditure on handset-based mobile media will rise 12 percent in 2015, and approach US$425 billion by 2021, according to Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com).

Strong growth in smartphone penetration, combined with ubiquitous data connectivity via mobile and WiFi networks, and latent consumer demand to access popular internet services continues to drive the consumption of content on mobile devices, says the research group. With advertisers increasingly targeting mobile phone users, mobile advertising is set to account for 24 percent of total digital advertising expenditure in 2015.

Consumer demand for accessing popular internet services and apps on mobile phones, including Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, and mobile games, among others, continues to increase, supported by the growing penetration of rich media smartphones and improving data connectivity, via...

Once again content has proven to be king when talking about the choice drivers for online video services. According to a major study performed by Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com) and Piksel in the second quarter (Q2) of 2015, 52 percent of viewers are driven by a "content related" factor when looking for an online video service of preference.

Such factors could be related to the type of content (whether the service includes full TV series and movies, live content, or user generated content) and the size of the content library. By contrast, price and pricing options account for only 39 percent of consumer choice.

Understanding the importance of these consumer-choice-drivers is key to minimizing risks when building a new OTT [over-the-top] video service, says Strategy Analytics. But even more revealing is the importance of having a stable platform to provide a seamless and...

According to a new report by Allied Market Research (www.alliedmarketresearch.com), the world personal cloud market is estimated to garner revenue of $89.9 billion by 2020, registering a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 33.1% during 2015-2020.

Growing customer awareness is expected to boost the growth of the personal cloud services in future. Personal cloud for individuals, which is the foremost application of these solutions, would continue to lead the market in future. However, the growing demands from the Asia-Pacific region would lead to a major turnaround in the market and would constitute about two-fifths of total market share in 2020, surpassing North America and Europe.

Technological advancements in the fields of cloud computing and electronic gadgets have led to the advent of the digital era, says Allied Market Research. Increasing adoption of smartphones, tablets...

Consumer demand for wireless audio products that come with built-in Bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi is being driven by a desire to wirelessly play music sourced from a portable device such as a smartphone or tablet on a loudspeaker located either in or outside the home, says Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com).

This trend is reshaping the home audio market as wireless speakers and soundbars grow at the expense of docking stations and more traditional audio solutions such as AV receivers and integrated hi-fi systems, adds the research group. Other findings from Strategy Analytics includes:

° Home Audio device shipments including integrated hi-fi systems, AV receivers, docking stations, wireless speakers and soundbars will exceed 80 million units globally in 2015 from just over 70 million in 2014.

° Wireless speakers will account for close to 50% of all home audio shipments in...

Over 20 percent of enterprises will have digital security services devoted to protecting business initiatives using devices and services in the Internet of Things (IoT) by year end 2017, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

The research group defines digital security as the risk-driven expansion and extension of current security risk practices that protect digital assets of all forms in the digital business and ensures that relationships among those assets can be trusted.

"The IoT now penetrates to the edge of the physical world and brings an important new ‘physical’ element to security concerns. This is especially true as billions of things begin transporting data," says Ganesh Ramamoorthy, research vice president at Gartner. "The IoT redefines security by expanding the scope of responsibility into new platforms, services and directions. Moving forward, enterprises should consider reshaping IT or...

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that wireless charging adoption for mobile devices will increase rapidly in the coming years, with nearly 40% of households in the US and over 20% in Europe using wireless charging by 2020.

The research group found that leading retailers using the IoT [Internet of Things] to generate an "ecosystem" are poised to gain market advantage and truly capitalise on the opportunity. Linking the hardware elements of RFID tags, beacons and connected consumer electronics, such as wearables, with software analytics promises in-depth business insight and an enhanced customer experience.

With more devices now implementing wireless charging (smartphones, tablets, wearables and soon laptops), infrastructure providers are starting to roll out support for the technology, in a way similar to public or customer Wi-Fi. The research notes that...

TRENDFOCUS (www.trendfocus.com) has published its updated quarterly NAND/SSD report covering the NAND & SSD industries’ performance in the second quarter (2Q) of 2015. In the SSD market, unit shipments increased, despite the fact that a good portion of the volume is tied to a weak notebook PC market.

The two main factors contributing to the slight 2.9% Q-Q rise was the increase in DFF (drive form factor) client SSDs in the channel market, as well as an uptick in datacenter demand for SATA SSDs, driving a total of 23.859 million units. Total SSD capacity shipped increased by 13.3% Q-Q to 6.4 exabytes, with the overall average capacity increasing to 268 GB.

Despite the rise in overall unit shipments, client modules declined, reflecting the continued slow demand for notebook PCs. Enterprise SAS SSDs declined 10% while PCIe SSDs in the enterprise segment remained under 100,000 units for the quarter....

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that 25% of U.S. broadband households are interested in using a health portal to review doctors' notes and nearly one-fifth would like to receive an electronic checklist after a doctor or hospital visit.

Over 50% of U.S. broadband households use two or more patient portals at least once a month, and interest in additional capabilities, particularly related to doctor communication, is relatively strong, according to the research group. Health plans and providers need to invest in connected solutions that will be more attractive to their members and patients, focusing on the entire health value proposition for consumers instead of just on their medical expenditures," says Ron Ozminkowski, Chief Scientific Officer and SVP, OptumHealth Care Solutions, UnitedHealth Group. "

While nearly half of all U.S. consumers believe nontraditional providers will drive innovation in the financial services industry, only 38 percent said they would consider a nontraditional provider for future financial services needs, according to a survey (www.theraddonreport.com) from Raddon Financial Group, a provider of financial industry research and trends data.

However, likelihood to use a nontraditional provider such as PayPal, Amazon, Apple or Google broke down sharply along generational lines, with younger consumers much more likely to consider doing so.

"U.S. consumers continue to trust that banks and credit unions will provide them with the highest quality and most secure financial services available, and they believe that the emergence of nontraditional financial service providers has the potential to drive innovation in the industry," asys Bill Handel, vice president of...

The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments decreased -5.3% year over year in the second quarter of 2015 (2Q15). According IDC (www.idc.com), the enterprise segment's growth continued to slow compared to preceding quarters, increasing just 1.4% over the same period last year.

The research group says that, after several quarters of high single-digit growth rates, the enterprise WLAN market growth rate has fallen to the lowest level seen in years due to the confluence of two factors: a hold on new WLAN projects due to the uncertain short-term trajectory of the global economy and market anticipation of Wave 2 802.11ac.

The 802.11ac standard continues on its path toward becoming the prevailing WLAN standard. After two full years of product availability, the 802.11ac standard already accounts for just under 50% of dependent access point unit shipments and 62.8% of...

Voice-based user interface technologies are becoming an increasingly important part of the user experience for smartphones, tablets, and smart watches. According to a recent report from Tractica (www.tractica.com), this growth is being driven by a variety of use cases that include not only traditional applications like hands-free calling, but also high-growth areas like virtual digital assistants (VDAs), always-on interfaces, and voiceprint identification of individual speakers.

The market intelligence firm anticipates that these use cases will drive significant growth in attach rates for speech and voice recognition technologies in mobile devices during the next several years. Tractica forecasts that native speech recognition will grow from 45 percent of all mobile devices in 2014 to 82 percent by 2020. Meanwhile, voice recognition, which identifies individual voiceprints and may be utilized for various...

In the second quarter of 2015, worldwide server shipments grew 8.0 percent year over year, while revenue increased 7.2 percent from the second quarter of 2014, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

"The second quarter year-over-year growth for 2015 slowed compared with the annual growth of the first quarter of the year," says Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice president at the research group. "Currency exchange rate changes have started to show their impact by reducing relative spending power in regions like Western Europe. It is likely that in anticipation of further currency rate shifts that some organizations utilized their budgets earlier in the year rather than waiting until the third or fourth quarters when their purchasing power may be further reduced by these relative currency changes.

Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com) says that 3D printing (3DP) technology has progressed rapidly in recent years, and that medical applications are leading to some of the most significant deployments of 3DP technology.

New data from the research group reveals that 3DP of medical devices has reached the Peak of Inflated Expectations, but certain specialist applications are already becoming the norm in medical care.

"In the healthcare industry, 3DP is already in mainstream use to produce medical items that need to be tailored to individuals, such as hearing aids and dental devices," says Pete Basiliere, research director at Gartner. "All of the major hearing aid manufacturers now offer devices that are personalized to the shape of the customer's ear. This is evidence that using 3DP for mass customization of consumer goods is now viable, especially given that the transition from traditional manufacturing in this...

Modula-2 R10 has been the Spy's meat and potatoes in this space for a few months now. It is the fully modern dialect of Niklaus Wirth's Modula-2 that he and Telecom engineer Benjamin Kowarsch have developed to address serious software engineering issues of safety, security, reliability, and extensibility. This month we consider the use of Generic templates to reach toward the software engineering grail of reusable code.

Modern programming practice first saw Generics in Modula-3, C++, and Java. The Modula-3 technique was then modified somewhat by the Spy as part of a proposal to the ISO committee for Modula-2 and this became a supplementary standard to that work, subsequently implemented by most vendors.

Generic facilities address two common situations with a lightweight solution for which using class types and their objects is overkill. These are:

The worldwide production print market enjoyed 9.4% year-over-year growth in unit shipments in the second quarter of 2015 (2Q15), according to new data from IDC.

According to the research group, shipments grew to approximately 9,279 units (printers and MFPs) and shipment value increased 6.0% to nearly US$1.1 billion in the same time period. All of IDC's regional markets saw positive year-over-year unit growth in the production print space. Key contributors to the worldwide growth were Latin America (32.7%), Middle East & Africa (30.7%), and Western Europe (19.7%).

All categories in the production print market recorded year-over-year gains. Mid-Production shipments grew 5.8% year over year while Production shipments increased 25.8% and Label & Packaging was up 18.3%. Color laser shipments grew 24.8% year over year in 2Q15. The Xerox Versant 2100 Press and Konica Minolta bizhub Press C1100/C1085 have each made strong gains in this segment and contributed...

As the number of screens and ad impressions continue to proliferate, advertising dollars are moving from traditional to digital environments at a staggering rate.

An important key to capturing share of the growing digital spend comes down to the ability for publishers to leverage real-time data, according to Forrester Consulting (www.forrester.com). The research group found that 65% of publishers report that they used SSP/exchange analytics data for critical operational decisions.

Further, the study found that 67% of publishers – large and small – believe that real-time data is important to their efforts, and 62% find that it leads to an increase in revenue, yet only 27% report receiving data in real-time. As publishers grow, their appetite for data and actionable insights increase too.

The study also found that the majority of larger publishers, with over 500 employees, experience challenges...

Spending on mobile services will grow 4% to reach US$21.4 billion in 2015, according to Gartner Inc. (www.gartner.com).

Spending on mobile services will be driven by data services, which is expected to grow 15% to reach $6.5 million in 2015, says the research group. A large chunk of this growth will be driven by the increasing use of cellular services on data-centric devices, such as tablets and notebooks, through either embedded cellular modems or USB sticks.

"In India, the rise in spending on data-only connections will be driven by two user scenarios – first, to complement their fixed broadband connectivity, so they can use their larger-screen data-centric devices on the go. In other use cases, data-only connections will be the way for consumers to access broadband connectivity because of a lack of fixed networks," says Neha Gupta, senior research analyst at Gartner.

According to a new research study conducted by MusicWatch (http://www.musicwatchinc.com), a company providing consumer research for the music industry, three quarters (77%) of Apple’s iOS users in the United States are aware of Apple Music, and 11% reported they are currently using Apple Music.

That usage level is similar among consumers who purchase music from iTunes or use iTunes to manage their music collections. Among users of iTunes Radio, Apple’s earlier music streaming service, listening to Apple Music reached 18 percent. The study measured trial, awareness and use of Apple Music across a representative sample of U.S. consumers.

Among people who had tried Apple Music, 48% reported they are not currently using the service. More than one quarter (28 percent) of Spotify Premium customers also use Apple Music, but the draw from popular ad-supported services is more modest: Just 11% of...

According to the latest market data findings from ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com), total system shipments for portable computing are predicted to reach 165 million units for full-year 2015, which is essentially flat compared to 2014 levels.

Assuming that the free upgrade promotion to Windows 10 OS offered by Microsoft is successful, much of the Windows installed base are likely to use their current computer hardware for at least a while longer. (The portable notebook PC category consists of four segments: netbooks, laptops, Chromebooks, and ultraportable PCs.)

"Segment growth is occurring in Chromebooks, much in part due to purchases by schools," says Research Director Jeff Orr. "Growth for 2015 is also in ultraportable PCs where thin and light designs are looking to tackle more mobile use cases by reversing the display panel flat like a tablet or having the screen separate entirely."

Worldwide personal and entry-level storage (PELS) shipments declined by -9.7% year over year and -13.8% sequentially, finishing the second quarter of 2015 (2Q15) with 15.1 million units, according to the IDC research group (www.idc.com) Shipment values declined along with unit shipments, down -16.1% from a year ago to $1.2 billion.

"The personal and entry-level storage market has been showing seasonality since 2013, indicating that it has become a mature market and is no longer immune to macro trends," says Jingwen Li, Research Analyst, Storage Systems, IDC. "Competition from cloud offerings and shift of media consumption preferences within mature markets are negatively impacting demand within the personal storage space, making high growth emerging markets more critical than ever."

According to IDC, personal storage, which accounted for over 98% of the market shipments, continued to experience decline in the second...

While the overall tablet market contracts in 2015, 2-in-1 detachable tablets have become a bright spot, according to Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com).

Traditional PC vendors like Asus, Acer, and HP have found a niche in which they can credibly compete against mobile device heavyweights, as the segment is forecast to grow 91% over the next five years due to lower prices and better designs, according to the research group.

By 2019, 2-in-1 tablet growth will show a five-year compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 57% while slate tablet growth will amount to a 2% five-year CAGR, says Strategy Analytics. The overall tablet market is set to decline 4% in 2015, with modest growth returning in 2016 due to more innovative designs and enabling technology in 2-in-1 and slate tablets alike.

One of the most common behaviors of gaming aficionados over the years has been to sit for hours at a time playing with, or against, fellow gamers across the world, but recent findings from IEEE (www.ieee.org), a professional organization "dedicated to advancing technology for humanity," has dispelled myths of the "traditional" gamer.

IEEE today revealed data on the past and future of gaming, based on input from an interactive timeline. Gamers from around the world were invited to view and participate in the interactive timeline launched on Facebook from June 11 – July 13.

The timeline revealed that younger generations of gamers are actually playing for a shorter period of time. Respondents aged 18-24 years shared that they have only played five to eight hours, at most, in one sitting, while respondents aged 25-34 years indicated that the longest they have played videos games in one sitting was 15+ hours, more...

A new IDC Financial Insights (www.idc.com)study builds on recent IDC analysis of the Bitcoin ecosystem by considering the potential of Ripple, an offshoot of Bitcoin which purports to be an open source, real-time payment settlement infrastructure, and the impact it could have on the financial services industry.

Crucially, Ripple concentrates on providing a payments infrastructure, rather than a new currency, in its attempt to overhaul the international payments landscape.
IDC expects payments through Ripple or similar protocols to grow exponentially in the years ahead. As such protocols supersede Bitcoin, the distinction between cryptocurrencies and new payment protocols will become clearer, and the banking industry will embrace the protocols. With the support of Ripple Labs and other interested parties, Ripple is currently best placed to take this market share, according to IDC.

Global mobile data traffic is set to reach 52 million terabytes (TB) in 2015, an increase of 59 percent from 2014, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

The rapid growth is set to continue through 2018, when mobile data levels are estimated to reach 173 million TB, according to the research group. Gartner analysts advise communication service providers (CSPs) to rethink their data caps to meet consumer needs and win market share.

"Mobile data traffic is soaring worldwide, more than tripling by 2018," says Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner. "New, fast mobile data connections (3G and 4G) will grow more slowly, from 3.8 billion in 2015 to 5.1 billion in 2018, as users switch from slower 2G connections and consume more mobile data."

In the third quarter of 2014, Gartner conducted a mobile app survey and asked 1,000 smartphone users in the U.S. and 1,000 in Germany about their mobile app...

The hype surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) in the home is growing rapidly, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com), as the battle for the IoT gateway in the connected home gets underway.

"The numerous IoT applications for the home include smart stoves, which tell you how to cook a meal and provide recipes; and smart washers and dryers, which help you determine the optimum time to run a load of laundry," says Paul O'Donovan, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Add to that smart lighting, which can be operated remotely and programed to dim or turn on or off at specific times; thermostats, which can have your living space at the desired temperature when you walk in the door; and entertainment devices, which can stream programming to your display whenever you want to watch it."

As home appliances have increased in smartness, cellular and cable connections improved, and pricing declined, the...

SOASTA, which specializes in performance analytics, has unveiled the findings of its annual SOASTA Back to School Shopping Report Card, which found that nearly all (91%) of parents who plan to shop online for back to school report there are stressors for them when making online purchases for the new school year.

According to SOASTA’s research, back to school online shoppers cited shipping costs (57 percent), out-of-stock inventory (51%) and not being able to see or test the product before buying (50%) among the top stressors when shopping online for back to school. Additional frustrations they’ve experienced include:

° Credit card security – 30%;

° Slow load times – 27%;

° Page crashing in the middle of a transaction – 25%;

° Hard-to-navigate websites – 23%;

° Out-of-date website and buying process – 19%.

While most back to school online shoppers report feeling stressed while making their online purchases, SOASTA’s...

The system on chip (SoC) market will see a compound annual growth rate of 11% between now and 2019, according to Sandler Research (SandlerResearch.org).

The need to differentiate so as to compete in the increasingly competitive printer market has led to the innovation of 3D printers. 3D printers are increasingly being adopted in key technology-driven markets such as aerospace, automotive, educational, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors, according to the research group. With the increase in the number of functions per IC, ICs have become denser, which helps manufacturers to add more functionality.

Miniaturization also helps reduce the overall cost of a SoC. Miniaturization of electronics is a major trend, as can be seen in the ever-increasing number of sleek smartphones, smart watches and wearables popping up at trade shows. Almost all industry segments, including automotive, healthcare, and industrial vendors are following the trend, which has led to a high...

The global market for facial recognition is forecast to reach US$ 2,67 billion by 2022, according to Transparency Market Research (http://tinyurl.com/dygmb53).

The market is driven by increased demand for surveillance systems by civil and government agencies, according to the research group. This is majorly due to the rising number of crimes and terrorist activities across the globe that would elevate the demand for efficient facial recognition solutions/systems in the near future.

In addition, acceptance of facial recognition in the entertainment industry coupled with extensive use of facial recognition in consumer electronics is expected to fuel the demand for facial recognition technology in future, according to Transparency Market Research. Geographically, North America is expected to remain the largest regional market for facial recognition throughout the forecast period.

The "personal cloud" is growing in importance as it shapes how employees operate across their digital lives, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com) End-user computing (EUC) and digital workplace managers responsible for building the digital workplace will be increasingly challenged as the personal cloud continues to evolve and intersect with IT initiatives, says the research group.

"The personal cloud is the collection of content, services and tools that users assemble to fulfill their personal digital lifestyle needs across any device. Each user's personal cloud is unique and evolving, as the user's daily needs change and as vendors and products come and go," says Stephen Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner. "Looking forward, we see continued upheaval and challenges from the blending of personal and corporate digital tools and information within each user's life."

In its twelfth quarterly Mobility Index Report, Good Technology, which specializes in secure mobility, has announced key findings showing that organizations are continuing to adopt an increasing variety of apps to secure corporate information. The acceleration of secure work app deployments enables users to perform work-related and personal activities on the same device, protecting user information, such as email, contacts, voicemails, SMS, location, etc.

With 67% of organizations now using two or more apps beyond email, companies are rapidly mobilizing content and apps while strengthening their cyber resiliency. The average organization now uses almost three and a half apps in addition to email, with secure browser leading all app categories for a third quarter in a row, according to Good Technology.

This quarter’s findings indicated that employees are requesting mobile access to corporate information located behind the firewall. The top five app categories...

The early excitement surrounding AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) has prompted some substantial bets from major players, including Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and Facebook. ABI Research (www.abirsearch.com) says Microsoft’s Hololens will likely be a major driver of consumer AR devices, while Google Cardboard will continue to be the first choice for an inexpensive VR experience (estimated to ship around 1.5 million units by then end of 2015), and will join Samsung’s Gear VR in driving mobile-reliant device growth.

The Oculus Rift, along with similar devices like the HTC Vive or Sony’s Project Morpheus, will be dominant among tethered devices and will drive early growth, with their successors likely continuing that lead in the space, according to the research group. These tethered VR devices are forecast for the highest growth among VR device types — 128% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) 2014...

As wearables continue to explode, the discussion of practical applications for wearables within businesses becomes more and more important. At the end of last year a survey of 300 top IT leaders showed that over a third of the surveyed companies were interested in using wearables, but most also felt that the current market did not have any offerings that were ready for adoption into a corporate environment.

Now, according to a report from Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com), the U.S. Enterprise Wearables market is expected to reach US$8.5 billion by 2020, with growth driven by key industries such as medical, industrial, energy and field services.

"A wrist computer or glasses style heads-up-display will be beneficial to workers in the industrial sector, giving them the hands-free ability to manage difficult tasks and still receive and send information," says...

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Microsoft Office 2016 16.11 - Popular pr...

Microsoft Office 2016 - Unmistakably Office, designed for Mac.
The new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote provide the best of both worlds for Mac users - the familiar Office... Read more

Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 19.1.2 - Profess...

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Adobe Dreamweaver CC 2018 18.1.0.10155 -...

Dreamweaver CC 2018 is available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud for as little as $19.99/month (or $9.99/month if you're a previous Dreamweaver customer).
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Adobe Flash Player 29.0.0.113 - Plug-in...

Adobe Flash Player is a cross-platform, browser-based application runtime that provides uncompromised viewing of expressive applications, content, and videos across browsers and operating systems.... Read more

Drive Genius 5.2.0 - $79.00

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MegaSeg 6.0.6 - Professional DJ and radi...

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ffWorks 1.0.7 - Convert multimedia files...

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Dash 4.1.5 - Instant search and offline...

Dash is an API documentation browser and code snippet manager. Dash helps you store snippets of code, as well as instantly search and browse documentation for almost any API you might use (for a full... Read more

Evernote 7.0.3 - Create searchable notes...

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at anytime, from... Read more

jAlbum Pro 15.3 - Organize your digital...

jAlbum Pro has all the features you love in jAlbum, but comes with a commercial license. You can create gorgeous custom photo galleries for the Web without writing a line of code!
Beginner-friendly... Read more

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The best games that came out for iPhone...

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Death Coming (Games)

Death Coming 1.1.1.536
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Games
Price: $1.99, Version: 1.1.1.536 (iTunes)
Description:
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What You Need to Know About Sam Barlow’s...

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Pixel Plex Guide - How to Build Better T...

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Fortnite Will Be Better Than PUBG on Mob...

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Apple is now offering Certified Refurbished 2017 10″ and 12″ iPad Pros for $100-$190 off MSRP, depending on the model. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each model, and shipping is free:
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Silver 12″ 1.3GHz MacBook on sale at B&H...

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